Expression and its significance of Her-2/neu protein and androgen receptor in human prostate cancer / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the expression of Her-2/neu protein and androgen receptor (AR) in human prostate cancer and to evaluate their significances in the progression of prostate cancer. Methods The Her-2/neu protein and AR immunohistochemical stain were carried out in human prostate tissue microarray that consisted of prostate cancer (107 cases) and benign prostate tissue (42 cases). The prostate cancer cases were divided into 4 groups group one (Gleason score 6),group two (Gleasonscore 7), group three (Gleasonscore 8) and group four (Gleasonscore 9) according to the Gleason score. The immunostains immunohistochemical stain were interpreted in two aspects of the staining intensity and the percentage of positive cells. The significance and relationships between the expression of Her-2/neu protein and AR in prostate cancer and benign prostate tissue (BPT) and the grouping of different Gleason scores of prostate cancer were then evaluated. Results The positive expression rate of Her-2/neu protein was significantly higher in prostate cancer tissue than in BPT [43.9%(47/107) vs. 14.3%(6/42), x2=11.562, P=0.009], and the positive expression intensity of Her-2/neu immunoreactivity was also higher (x2= 11.764, P=0.008). There were significant differences in positive expression intensity of Her-2/neu immunoreactivity among the different Gleason scores groups (x2 = 20. 512, P = 0. 015), and the expression intensity was significantly positively correlated with Gleason scores ( r= 0. 269, P = 0. 005). There was significant difference in AR immunoreactivity between in prostate cancer (67 %, 72/107) and in BPT (50 %, 21/42, x2 =3. 843, P=0. 050). Among prostate cancer cases, the positive expression intensity of AR was not significantly different among groups 1 through 4 (x2 = 4. 318, P = 0. 229), and was not significantly correlated with Gleason scores ( r = - 0. 065, P = 0. 505 ). Moreover, the positive expression intensity of Her-2/neu protein was not significantly correlated with that of AR (r = -0. 115, P=0. 237). Conclusions Overexpression of Her-2/neu protein in human prostate cancer tissue suggests that Her-2/neu may have some role in prostate tumorigenesis. Her-2/neu protein expression is positively correlated with Gleason score in prostate cancer, which suggests that Her-2/neu may be a potential prognostic predictor of prostate cancer.